Many veterans of the Revolutionary Democrats, particularly the senior leaders from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), have not been enlisted to run for either the regional councils or the Federal Parliament. From Sebhat Nega to Mulugeta Alemseged and Teklewoyni Assefa to Debretsion Gebremichael (all council members of the TPLF), many have been left out from the list of candidates their organisation has fielded for the forthcoming national elections. 

This move is seen by political pundits as the start of a succession process that the incumbent recently said it would embark upon, with a three-phase process taking five years. The other mass of departures from the electoral game is seen at the top leadership of the ANDM, where the four most prominent veterans of the armed struggle - Addisu Legesse, Bereket Simon, Tefera Walwa and Taddese (Tinkishu) Kassa - were all dropped out of the electoral contest.

It is interesting to note that little of this unprecedented political development is observed with the other junior parties in the ruling coalition, the Oromia People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO) and the South Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Movement (SEPDM). With the exception of Kuma Demekssa, whose mayoral position in Addis Abeba would not allow him to run now, all the executive committee members of the ruling EPRDF, representing the OPDO, have made it onto the list. The case is no different with their comrades in the south. Above are identified members of the EPRDF’s Executive Committee who are listed to run for the election (green colour) and those opted out from the electoral debacle (red)!